


The end of a legend

by SHSL_Gross



Series: Linked Universe: Modern AU [1]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, LinkedUniverse - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Character Death, Death, this entire thing is just going on about death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-20
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2019-11-26 04:40:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18175958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SHSL_Gross/pseuds/SHSL_Gross
Summary: Legend hadn't noticed but every time his uncle caught a cold or some other bug that was going around, his uncles symptoms would stay around for longer each and every time. Every time it would take longer for him to recover, until eventually he never did.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off of the LinkedUniverse Modern AU from the Discord! This is more hurt and pain and i’m so sorry if this triggers or makes any one remember horrible things but I wanted to base this on exactly what happened to me and my own experience and feelings with this event that happened almost two years ago. I’m sorry to any inaccuracies. but I did try my hardest to recall every correct term I could.
> 
> @linkeduniverse belongs to @jojo56830 (Both on tumblr)

_Legend never noticed it before due to always being around, but his uncle had lost weight. A lot of it. Someone had offhandedly mentioned it to him saying that they had seen him the other week and he was looking skinnier than previous._

_Legend never noticed that his uncle was eating less and less. Before he would talk about the big breakfasts he had and then they'd plan dinner together. These days he couldn't even eat a bowl of soup._

_Legend hadn't noticed it before as he always worked alongside his uncle, but it seemed that the elderly man was working less and less hours. Tiredness or from general aches he claimed._

_"I’m not getting any younger." He said with a laugh as he hauled his fragile frame up._

_Legend hadn't noticed but every time his uncle caught a cold or some other bug that was going around, his uncles symptoms would stay around for longer each and every time. Every time it would take longer for him to recover, until eventually he never did._

-

"Alright, I'm going over to the Fisher's now, if you start feeling any worse just phone an ambulance. I won't be able to home fast enough so don't bother with me. Get immediate help" Legend turned to his uncle, who was bundled up on the sofa wrapped in blankets, and he pulled on his shoes. He had said that he had been feeling sick and cold all day, even in the middle of the scorching summer. He didn't exactly feel right saying what he had, it felt like some sort of jinx, but it was necessary especially concerning his uncle's conditional the moment. 

"Don't worry about me, I'll still be sitting here when you get back later. Have fun."

Those were the last words he ever heard his uncle say.

_What if..._

-

He had gotten the call from the hospital as he had been walking home, the cool summers night breeze suddenly chilling every bone in his body as each word that slowly came from the phone became further and further away. The lovely dinner he had just eaten felt as it was going to come back up.

His uncle had been all alone. He had phoned the ambulance by himself in the midst of his attack. He was alone, and that fear he must have felt haunted Legend at the back of his mind as he ran to the hospital.

Legend could admit that never in his life would he ever thought he would find himself here. In a hospital waiting room at midnight. The only indicator of the passing off time in the room was the TV on the wall with the late night news playing over and over on repeat, telling stories of a man finally freed from jail after wrongfully accused many decades ago, and the cup of tea on the table in front of him now cold.

He felt numb. All alone. Perhaps if he had siblings at a time like this he could be talking out loud about all the things their uncle used to do. Clutched in his hands Legend held two phones. The first was his, the very phone he had received the call from the hospital on hours ago. The second... The second was his uncles. Low on battery after a days use and having looked through the call log Legend could see the number that his uncle had rang.

The number which gotten them both here.

He really wished he had had the nerve to have called someone all those hours ago himself. Another relative or a friend. It would've been easier with anyone here, instead of the biting and dark loneliness, and repetitive voice of the late night newscaster.

It made his mind go places he didn't like.

Placing the phones down onto the table, Legend brought his hands up to his face in an attempt to clear and rub away at thoughts plaguing him, instead all he found was a dampness he hadn't been aware of.

"When..."

When had he started crying? Or had he never stopped?

The clock in the bottom left of the TV changed again.

**3 am.**

It had been hours without an update. The last he had heard was that they were taking his uncle for some testing within the ICU and had been moved from one waiting room to another.

He picked up his uncles phone again, unlocking the screen to see a photo of the both of them from so many years ago. Both so happy, both so full of life.

"Please..."

_What if..._

He had heard of stories where people woke up after being in comas for months, after the doctor's had told family members there was no hope - it had to be the same for him. He prayed it would be. He needed this miracle.

Another hour went past. A doctor had come in at some point and told him everything that had happened, and that they were continuing to do.

A heart attack, the reason behind it was currently still unknown.

He wasn't conscious in the least but they still were keeping him in an induced coma just in case. He was suffering no pain, but they did admit to things not looking so good.

"His body is weak," they had said, handing the box of tissues over to him as they sat down on a chair opposite him. "Now that it's getting the support it needs, everything seems to be slowing and shutting down. Liver failure was-..." The words all blurred into one.

There was still hope. Worst things had happened to others, he had spent the last few hours just reading about these miracle stories, there was still hope.

Another hour and a bit, now 5:30 read on the digital clock. He had been up almost 24 hours with an entire day of school and dinner with the Fisher's between then and now, but he didn't feel tired. He felt nothing. School the previous day felt so long ago. Even flipping off Warrior as he left his house only seven hours ago felt like an eternity ago.

He stood up for the first time in a long time, stretching every aching muscle as he walked across the waiting room and out into the main part of the ICU. He needed to go home. Shower, eat... Get ready for school...

A nurse who had been attending to his uncle approached him - she was kind. Understanding. The words she said almost didn't sound like a death sentence but more of a mercy kill.

He told her that he needed to leave, and she said if anything changed they would call him. He was also allowed to phone them at any point for an update if he so wished to. Visiting times were whenever, but he should go home for some rest. They were looking after his uncle now, not him, and it was time Legend looked after himself for once.

He said he'd be back after school.

-

The walk home was surreal. The sun was up, the birds were calling and singing, and the few cars that there on the roads at that time in the morning were going along as it nothing had changed. Well for them, nothing had, but for Legend... Everything was different now.

The sight he was greeted to upon returning home made his stomach lurch. The fact nothing was out of the ordinary, was what made it the worst. Everything was as it should be. The blankets his uncle had been wrapped up in were draped over the back of the sofa, his uncles slippers down by his bed and a glass of water on his bedside table.

The corner of his duvet was flipped back and pillows were sat up.

Obviously the man had been getting into bed when he had called the ambulance.

He could see it in his head. The image of his uncle, all alone and suffering, sat on the edge of his bed and phone clutched in his hand as he rang the number.

_What if..._

He slammed the bedroom door shut, guilt pulsing through his entire being. If only he had tried harder. It was now so obvious his uncle had been suffering in silence for years, only too scared to go to the doctor's in case it had been something awful, and now here he was. Or rather, wasn't.

Hours later, still no sleep or a call from the hospital was the only small hope he had. They said they would ring if something changed. No phone call, no change.

No news was good news.

-

It was another beautiful day, the shine was shining at full force at midday during his lunch. People were laughing and the day was going on all as usual for everyone else.

Sitting on the grass if the field with Warriors and a few other friends, talking amongst themselves of the day's events. It wasn't entirely odd for him to stay quiet during these times, holding his tongue back from retorting at the stupid things his friend said.

Someone across the field was playing an instrument. Music flooded in his ears and he looked across to a student from the other school sitting under a tree. He didn't recognise the tune of the person playing it, but it made him feel better.

On that amazing summer's day, his hand wrapped around his phone in his blazer pocket and the light joyful music and chatter of his peers in his ears, he felt better.

Things would get better.

He stood up, dusting himself off of the loose blades of grass that had been thrown at him.

"I'm going to go make a call, I'll be back in a minute."

-

_"His kidneys started failing so we put him on dialysis..."_

At this point he wasn't even surprised, but it did hurt a lot. They had said that his uncle had been going along for so long, his body so exhausted that now it was having a break from all the support he was now getting, things we're shutting down.

**Multiple Organ Failure.**

"Thank you, I'll be back later..."

He hung the phone up after thanking them again several times, his hand dropping from his ear down to his side. A few deep breaths later and he felt better.

There was still hope. None of the doctor's or nurses had mentioned anything about end game yet. People recovered. People made recoveries from all sorts of things. MOF was among that list. More stories filled the tabs on his phones internet browser, things he would read later.

It was hope, not delusion. He was alone. There was no way he could possibly think up what would happen if…

_What if..._

The strumming of the guitar returned to his ears, the calming feeling and lyrics of joy. It was warm, students all around him shedding their layers and outside clothing in midday heat and he joined in. His blazer lay on the ground in a pile beside him as he sat back down, picking a large chunk of grass out from the ground and throwing it into Warrior's lap with a laugh.

For now, he was allowed to feel the way he did. The guilt and fear was still very present in the back of his mind, but as he straightened his legs out on the grass, taking in all the sun and warmth he could, and rolled his eyes at something Warriors said, he managed to let it be forgotten for some time.

The end of the day at school only came too quickly, and instead of taking his usual route home, he simply said he had matters to attend to elsewhere and headed towards the hospital.

There were many places he could possibly go to along that way, no suspicion was raised.

-

Upon entering the ICU, that feeling of dread washed over him again. He wanted to keep the hope up, but seeing that curtain drawn over a section over the end of the hall and the beeping of the machines...

The nurse from the night before - or earlier than morning - approached him and gave more of a run down as she escorted him to the curtain and pulled it back.

There he was, lying in a bed completely still. Wires everywhere and machines surrounding him. She quickly told him about the dialysis machine next to him, saying about what it was doing and what it had done for him since they had set it up hours ago.

No improvement, but no decline yet. That was good.

That meant somewhere in there, his uncle was still around.

"I've been trying to talk to Robert all day, but he doesn't seem to be responding much. Is he shy? Quiet?"

Legend couldn't help but laugh, though it felt hollow in his throat as the stood at the end of the bed and shook his head.

"He likes to go by Craig, maybe that's why."

"Oh I see! Thank you, that makes so much sense." She turned to his uncle, smiling down at him. "I'm so sorry Craig! Maybe now we can have a proper conversation."

She pointed to a chair at the side of the bed, indicating for him to sit in it as she walked over to the whiteboard and wrote in the top right hand corner "Likes to be called Craig!" in a bubble.

Legend moved around the bed, his legs wobbling and eyes stinging from holding back the tears.

The man who had been his father since he was a child looked so weak. So ill and frail. Bruising, discoloured skin and bones showing so heavily through flesh. He carefully pulled back the blankets covering his arms, and the hand that didn't have any needles or wires connected to it became free of the fabric confines.

Fingers that looked just like bones and felt so cold. Unmoving and unresponsive. No matter how hard he squeezed, there was no squeeze back.

He sat there for some time, just talking and quietly begging for a sign. Begging for even just his uncle to make a recovery and get better.

He spoke of the good things as well, all the happy memories they shared together and fun future things that they had planned to do.

Damp and dark droplets littered across the exposed sheet.

Some time past and the doctor in charge approached him, quietly getting his attention as she asked him to come with her shortly.

He followed.

_What if..._

-

He was led to a small room just next to the waiting room which he had only become too well acquainted with the night before. Instead of the large TV and fish tank on the opposite wall with just over a dozen chairs and tables around, this one only had 6 or so chairs, a small table with a box of tissues and a water machine.

She sat down, and he did too across from her.

"We haven't seen any improvement since this morning, in fact you're aware of that we put him on dialysis after his kidneys started failing."

All he could do was nod his head, the pain in his hands from his nails pushing into his palms the only thing stopping him from crying further at this time.

"Well, since then he has deteriorated further. There's been absolutely no improvement, I'm sorry. We just think his body is too weak now." - It's given up.

The words weren't said but he knew it was true.

Nothing felt real, and once again for the second time in 24 hours a box of tissues was held out to him.

"S-so you're saying that... No. Can't you keep trying for bit longer? Please..."

_Please._

She gently shook her head, lowering the box back down onto the table.

"I'm sorry but we've done everything we can, it's all up to him now but he's just so exhausted. We don't see him making it until tomorrow morning"

She continued on after a brief sigh. "It's up to you. It's your decision. We can do it now with you here and you can say goodbye and be with him, or we just let him go on his own... I'll give you a few minutes to think about it.

She made no attempt to move, still sitting opposite him as he tried to calm his breathing that he hadn't even realised that picked up. Nothing was clear, he couldn't even see his hands in his lap, grasping at the tissues, as the tears fell.

The nod of his head felt heavy and rigid at first, almost like he hadn't even moved at all, but then he lifted his head again, wiped his eyes off and tried again.

"Yeah okay.. le-lets do it now. I want to be here.”

There was no way, after all this time and everything his uncle had ever done for him, that he was going to leave him alone again. Especially not to die.

-

She stood up and once again, he followed her, back to where he had previously been sat before.

His uncle's hand was still out from the blankets, it hadn't been moved nor had it moved in that time.

“What we'll do is turn the machines off, but leave his painkillers and him unconscious. Don't worry, he's not going to feel a thing.”

It wasn't exactly most reassuring considering what was going to happen, but Legend felt better knowing that his uncle's suffering was long over.

He took his seat by the bedside again, holding and resting his forehead on his uncle's hand for a moment.

Lifting his head back up once again with one last kiss to the back of his uncle's hand, he clutched the fragile one between both of his and looked towards the male nurse giving him a soft smile.

“I'll leave you two be."

The curtain was drawn back around the bed, shutting off Legend and his uncle from the members of staff outside.

One hand let go and moved upwards, slowly brushing his fingers through his uncles hair. Greasy and unwashed. He hadn't been clean in days. Too unwell to even get in the shower.

He commented on that, making a quick joke about the state of his uncles facial hair before the words changed into that of a goodbye.

The words he said he would never be able to recall, but they were ones of gratitude, love, hopes, promises, and wishes.

Regrets, sorrows, pain, and guilt.

It couldn't have been more than a few minutes later that the male nurse returned and peered his head through the curtain, glancing at the machines.

“He's gone.”

Legend couldn't believe it. It was so much quicker than he had been expecting. TV made these things seem like they would take longer, but perhaps his uncle just really had been that weak.

Well he wasn't anymore.

He was the strongest person Legend knew.

The hand Legend held tightly onto the hand was now more yellow tinged than it had been before, colder too, and his uncle's face looked no better.

But at least he was at peace.

He was gone, and Link Goldsmith was alone.


	2. Chapter 2

_“Legend? Oi, Legend?!”_

He hadn't moved from that seat next to his uncle's bed. He still held tightly onto his hand, never wanting to let go as he knew it would be the last time. Soon he would have have to leave, discuss whatever was needing to be discussed and then go home to the empty house so full of memories.

Not yet.

He couldn't.

_“Legend! What the fuck, dude?”_

He held his phone in his other hand, rested on his lap, the muffled voice coming from there but still sounding so pissed off. Finally he managed to tear his watery and blurred gaze away from his uncles face, inhaling a shaky breath and sniffling his runny nose, and looked down to the device that was lit up.

_“Legend, what the fuck is all that noise? I can-”_

More quickly than any movement he could even register to make in his emotionally dulled and mentally exhausted brain, he brought the phone to his ear and cleared his throat from any signs of a wavering voice.

“Sorry, I must've accidentally rang you. I would never do something like that on purpose.” Even when feeling so down, the sound of his friends stupid voice still managed to pull a quip out of him. He was glad his voice hadn't broken or cracked though, last thing he needed right now was to break down again.

_“Did you butt dial me? I am not your booty call!”_ Warriors scoffed dramatically over the phone, causing Legend to roll his achy eyes, wiping them with a tissue afterwards.

“Even if you were the last person on Earth, you would still never be my booty call, Warriors.” Legend retorted, squeezing his uncle's hand one last time before standing up and grabbing his bag to sling back onto his shoulder. 

He still felt awful, absolutely dreadful, torn apart in every which way and it was only because of Warriors’ insistent need of constant attention - being the reason he probably hadn't hung up the phone after the first minute or so after hearing nothing but silence from the other side - that Legend was able to hold it together at this very moment.

Finally he stepped out from behind the curtain, giving one last look back to the man in the bed, the only part of him on show from under the blanket were his head and hand, both of which Legend could still feel in his grip. He swallowed thickly, his head drooping as he let the curtain fall close again

“Mr Goldsmith? Link?..” One of the nurses from before walked up to him calling out to him several times, obviously still giving him some space but with the intention to continue the conversation elsewhere. 

“Yeah? Sorry.” He pulled the phone away from his ear, turning his attention to the nurse and then back to the phone call. “I gotta go, Warriors. I'll see you and that ugly scarf of yours at school on Monday.” 

_“Wait wait wait, hold up there. You called me and now you're hanging up on me? No way. Anyways, what's up? You sound and looked like shit today, and did I just hear someone refer to you as Mr. Goldsmith? Where are you right now?”_ Of course there was no way Warrior was going to let this go right now. 

Legend felt his throat close up again and suddenly everything had just struck him again all his quickly. Everything that had just happened. The day and night before.

He was being dragged under the waves of despair again and he felt sick. The tears returned to his eyes, hot and big, already causing blurring in his vision. 

As hard as he tried to hold on strong on the phone, he couldn't hold back the sniffle and the wavering in his voice.

“Yeah… yeah. I really need to go, I I have better things to be doing than talking to you on the phone right now.” It wasn't the first, nor would it be the last time, that Legend avoided answering on of Warriors questions.

Guilt washed over him in heavy waves, dragging him under the sea of anguish. He couldn't do this. No matter how much he tried to keep his head above the water, he was pulled back down by the ever lingering feeling

_'I should've stayed at home.’_

_‘I left him alone to suffer.’_

_'He must have been so terrified. He died alone and scared, and I…’_

_“Legend, where are you right now?”_ Warriors tone was strong and true, and it was evidently clear that he wasn't going to let up. He was going to get his answer from his friend. 

Legend couldn't tell whether he hated it or appreciated it.

_'Why did I not stay with him?’_

_'He needed me by his side.’_

_'I shouldn't have listened to him…’_

The nurse had given him some tissues once again as he took a seat further down the hall, giving him a few more moments alone in his phone before they had to discuss what came next. Silence permeated the air between him and Warriors through the phone, and he shook his head forgetting that the motion couldn't be seen.

“Legend-”

“I'm at the hospital…” Admitting the words out loud made him feel light headed. Made him feel weak. It was like another heavy rock stacked upon the others already on his chest, the pressure making it impossibly hard to breathe.

Soon enough he'd be completely crushed under all the weight.

All of what he was, had been, and ever would be, was stripped to the bare minimum, to the very core of everything.

All too suddenly had the strong feeling he hadn't felt in some time returned.

In some way it was nostalgic.

In another, haunting.

A bittersweet memory that made him feel sick to his stomach.

_Loneliness._

_But he was never alone when she was around… A part of him could even swear he could hear the faint sound of singing somewhere in the back of his mind._

_A melancholic melody, and as he closed his fist he could almost feel the familiar feeling of ceramic brush against the tips of his fingers..._

_“Hey? Hey! Are you still there? Is everything okay? Why are you at the hospital? Are they back? Have you not been taking your-”_

“I'm fine.” A lie. One that tore itself up from the ground and wrapped itself so thoroughly around him.

His uncle wasn't fine.

He wasn't fine either.

_“Oh come on, I can smell your bullshit from here. I'm going to come over there and meet you.”_

“NO!-” The outburst caught him by surprise, and judging from the silence from the other side of the phone, it surprised Warriors as well. “I mean, there's no point is there? You refuse to come inside and I don't know how long I'll be. You'll just be waiting outside” 

He could just feel Warriors physically recoiling, the detest and disgust all over his face as he would have grimaced at the prospect of entering the hospital.

Legend heard Warriors sigh, and then his voice started to echo as he could only assume he had been put on loudspeaker, the rummaging and noises from the other side giving it away.

_“Yeah yeah, you're so right, as fucking always. I won't go inside, but I can still wait outside for you to come out.”_ It wasn't often that Warriors legitimately sounded so pressed and fed up. Obviously what Legend had said has ruffled his feathers just a little bit. 

Legend couldn't help but the the intrusive thoughts return to him as only the sound of Warriors sorting himself out registered in his brain. For what seemed like too long did the quiet and tense feeling settle between every crack and joint in his bones, and behind his eyes as once he felt the tears fill his vision once again and to fall down his face as he blinked. No matter how hard he tried to wipe them away, more would follow and his entire body started to shake as his breathing became more erratic.

Still, he stayed silent.

The realisation that even though he was on the phone to someone, he could hear them and they could hear them, he was alone. Just down the corridor did his carer, uncle, and father lay dead.

_There was no one left._

_Maybe…_

_If he…_

_He could still see-_

_“I'm going to leave now, which building are you in?”_

Once again Warriors voice brought Legend out from his nightmarish thoughts. He wasn't a child anymore, he wasn't about to let a small thing make him freak out again, even if her soft voice echoed in his ears. 

He was better now.

Legend cleared his throat, taking a deep breath and wiped his face again with the sleeve of his school blazer. He couldn't use anymore tissues, whilst they were soft, his eyes ached and nose stung. No more.

“Main building, east exit.” He couldn't see it, but he could just feel Warriors nodding in confirmation. More noise from Warriors side, and the brief pause allowed Legend to attempt to calm himself down again.

If he had been mentally, emotionally, and physically tired before, he was now exhausted. Every small movement ached and thinking of words for simple conversation was draining. Sleep was something he wanted, but he was well aware it wouldn't come for some time yet.

And even if his body was begging for sleep, his brain wouldn't allow it. 

_“Legend?”_

All he could manage was a small hum in response, though after a few moments of Warriors not saying anything, he sighed and tried again. 

It was an effort.

“What?”

_“Will you tell me what's going on?”_

“Piss off! ..I'm hanging up now.”

Before Warriors could get another word in, Legend had taken the phone away from his ear, hung up, and lowered it back to his lap next to the box of tissues.

Just a few minutes and he'd be okay.

He had to be okay.

There was still so much to do.

\--

By some sort of foolish mistake, or by some lapse in concentration and planning, Legend had forgotten to check the time before he had started talking to the nurses about what was to happen with his uncle next. 

In all honesty he couldn't remember much of the conversation, but he could recall then mentioning the morgue, and he'd briefly mentioned that there was no way he could afford a funeral - at least not currently. 

Maybe by some sort of miracle, but he doubted it.

And what would happen if he couldn't hold a funeral for his uncle? That was the chance for the final goodbye…

When finally he left the hospital it was darker and cooler out that it had been when he had first entered after school. Still in his uniform and bag slung over his shoulder, Legend could feel every muscle screaming out in agony at him.

Whilst it had definitely hadn't been a very physical day; the constant switch of emotions, from being so hopeful that morning to bathing in despair just that evening, the lack of sleep before, and constant dreary thoughts inside of his head made him feel like he had aged.

All within one day.

24 hours.

1440 minutes.

86400 seconds.

His entire life had changed, and he had no one to ask for help.

No one to give him the answers he needed in the hard times.

The only man he could call family...

The only person who knew the true him, the real him behind the many walls he had erected over the years, who knew the young helpless and lonely boy and always tried his best and helped in any small way that was possible, was gone.

Gone forever.

“Hey Legend! Oh Hylia, you look like shit.”

The immediate reaction from Legend upon hearing Warriors voice was to groan, sigh, and roll his eyes. It hasn't even been a conscious thought or action in his brain, but he had done it.

At least after everything his brain was still awake enough for that.

He turned to face his friend, and tucked his hands into the pockets of his blazer. There stood Warriors in all his “glory” long blue scarf and all. Though Legend wasn't sure if it was because of how tired he was or because the evening was actually slightly chilly, but he was cold and envious of such a thing at that moment.

“Wow, good to see you too, you piece of shit,” he approached the other, kicking him in him back on the leg to emphasise his irritated response, “You look like shit too. But then again you always do, so nothing new there.”

Warriors wasn't blind, he could easily spot the puffiness of Legends eyes, and the redness of them and his nose. Everything about him looked messed up, from his hair to his face, uniform, and even his general demeanour. 

For whatever reason that had Legend looking like death incarnate and visiting the hospital, Warriors couldn't even begin to guess.

He liked to think he knew Legend relatively well, all things considered. Both of them had their secrets, things which they found hard to share with anything excluding family, but they also knew some of each others deepest worries and fears too.

Warriors glanced from Legend and then to the hospital doors and back. Several times did he do this, the puzzle pieces in his head not fitting together no matter how hard he tried. There was too many things that it could, and couldn't have been, that there was no making any heads or tails.

He stopped upon hearing the heavy sigh escape from his friend, taking it as a hint to stop, get moving, but also as sign of the very evident fatigue Legend was feeling.

“Hey, you sure everything is okay?”

Legend's eyes rolled once again, his feet moving one in front of the other as he began to walk away and leave both Warriors and hopefully the awful memories and thoughts that the hospital had brought out of him.

Warriors huffed out in annoyance, but within a few quick and large strides, he had caught up to Legend and walked by his side as they headed back towards the centre of the city. 

“If it's about… well you know who and what-”

“It's not.”

Legend's reply was curt and he had technically interrupted Warriors, but Legend was obviously not in the mood to be discussing such a thing right now. 

_The evening breeze was gentle, like that on a summer's day at the beach. Again, from someone, somewhere, he could hear and familiar tune._

_One that told a story of a young boy and his friend._

_And also told a story of loneliness._

_With his uncle gone, that familiar loneliness tugged heavy at his heart, and it hurt._

_It cut deeply into both pleasant and unpleasant memories._

Another sigh, one that held the weight of the world in it, and judging from Legend's wilted posture, he seemed to carry the weight of the whole world on his shoulder as well.

A somewhat comfortable uncomfortable feeling settles over the two of them as they continued walking on wards for several minutes with no more words between then.

It was Legend who spoke up first.

“It was my uncle.”

His voice carried no evident emotion, but it was the things that weren't said or obvious which made things click into place more.

Warriors was stunned silent for a few seconds, all previous assumptions flying out of his head and new ones nestling their way in immediately. 

If it was Legend's uncle, and he was acting like this…

It couldn't have been good news.

“Oh shit shit shit! What happened? Is he okay?”

The silence spoke volumes.

He stopped walking, his foot under him refusing to take another step as the news settled in.

Laughter bubbled out from deep within him, and he was only too aware of how unfitting it was for moment like this but it was the only thing he managed to do.

Legend stopped walking just in front of him, his shoulder shaking slightly, his hands clenched tightly into fists either side of him and his head hung long.

“Fuck... FUCK! Legend, why didn't you say anything?!”

When he didn't reply, Warriors found it within himself to finally move again, making fully well sure that he stormed just ahead of Legend and stood before him.

It was a times like this when the height difference was obvious, but that was not what Warriors was focusing on.

Instead all he could focus on was how Legend refused to look up, how his shaking arms and hands hid his face, and his erratic breathing.

He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it again when he realised he was speechless. 

He could remember helping Wind and Aryll after their parents died, but he was their big brother - adopted or not - but how was he supposed to help Legend?

“When?”

Somehow that one simple word, that one simple question had both pushed Legend off over the edge, and also grounded him.

Still, he refused to lift his head up, but his hands dropped down to his side in defeat.

“An hour ago? It was just after before call…” The realisation hit Warriors like a tonne of bricks. He had been wondering why Legend had called him and then proceeded to blank him for a few minutes until he finally answered. 

“Warriors, I don't know what to do. Gods! I can't believe I'm even talking to you about this, but I can't go home… I can't. Hi-his stuff is all still there on the side and-” Legend cut himself off, obviously not wanting to go into detail.

“I can't the fucking thought out of my head that whilst I was eating dinner at yours, playing happy families, that he was at home alone suffering.”

“Hey, hey. Stop that! You can come back to mine tonight, the Fisher's would be happy to have you in their humble abode. And it's the weekend so there's no rush about going back home-”

“I don't have my meds.”

“Do you think you won't be okay without them for a few days?”

He stayed quiet.

_Once again the familiar tune and soft singing voice filled his head._

Legend shook his head again, and his leg began to twitch in a restless way, his hands once again clenching and unclenching like he was trying to hold onto something.

Warriors began walking again, stopping when Legend didn't follow him at first but then resumed once they were side by side again.

“It's going to be okay-”

“No, it's not. Gods, you're a fucking idiot aren't you?”

“I'm sorry? Who was it that scored higher on the last test?”

“You cheated!”

Warriors gritted his teeth as another swift kick was delivered to his shin, but just as quickly did he return it and then ran up ahead to avoid getting struck again.

Somewhere deep inside, Legend begged for the tune to both stop and to continue.

He liked the familiarity it gave him. How it made him remember _her_ and what she taught him.

But it also made him remember _him_ and once again did he feel himself getting lost at sea in a small boat during a storm.

And this time he wasn't going to be there to save him.

He had no idea how he was going to cope after all of this.


End file.
